The Latest Breaking News from Cost Plus Drugs

In a strong rebuttal to concerns over pharmaceutical innovation, billionaire Mark Cuban, co-founder of Cost Plus Drugs and Shark Tank fame, argued that slashing pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) fees could paradoxically increase research and development (RD) funding by allowing manufacturers to earn more.

Billionaire Mark Cuban explains why he launched Cost Plus Drugs to fight America's opaque healthcare system by offering affordable, transparent pricing on prescription medications.

Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) “invent all these special categories,” Cuban told Fortune’s Andrew Nusca. “They’re just pills.”

Mark Cuban has expressed willingness to collaborate with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by offering his Cost Plus Drug Company to help cut federal healthcare costs through its transparent and affordable pricing model.

"If you were an asshole when you were poor, you're going to be a bigger asshole when you're wealthy," the Shark Tank personality tells Reason.

"If I had enough money to do it, which I don’t, I’d buy it in a heartbeat," the billionaire told Wired.

Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs project brings a bit of free market flair to the health care industry, but the lack of meaningful price signals is only part of the problem.

The billionaire entrepreneur spoke to Fortune after participating in a White House roundtable discussion on bringing transparency to the role of prescription drug middlemen.

The "Shark Tank" investor and Cost Plus Drugs cofounder Dr. Alex Oshmyansky participated in a White House health care roundtable.